Ondo guber: Akinterinwa campaign team alleges blackmail

By Folorunso Ojo, Akure

The Wale Akinterinwa Campaign Organisation (WACO) has condemned what it described as a premeditated plot to blackmail the aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo state, Wale Akinterinwa and members of his campaign team.

The campaign organization made this known on Thursday in a statement by its spokesperson Segun Ajiboye.

A viral video currently in circulation depicts a CCTV camera capturing a vehicle belonging to the Wale Akinterinwa campaign organisation stealing fuel at a filling station in Ondo town.

But Ajiboye, in the statement, said the campaign organisation “strongly condemns” the claim, which he described as a “lie from the pit of hell and an amateurish attempt by some desperate politicians to blackmail our team.”

Speaking further, he said, “Over the past few weeks, there have been sustained attacks on our members and the destruction of our billboards across the state. The last attack was in Owo, where, after destroying our billboards, they went from house to house threatening our members not to venture out to receive our campaign team.

“But they were obviously shocked by the large turnout of our supporters who dared them to receive us in Owo. It was definitely a glorious outing for us”, he said.

Explaining the story behind the video, the spokesperson said the vehicles in the convoy of the campaign organisation indeed bought fuel at the station, duly paid for the fuel the vehicles received, adding that the vehicle in the video was not part of the convoy and does not belong to any member of the team.

“Let it be noted that our convoy, indeed, bought fuel at the Matrix filling station at the Akure garage in Ondo town. All the vehicles in our convoy were served fuel and full payment was duly made.

“The latest attempt to blackmail our team has not come to us as a surprise in any way. Having exhausted all their weapons and wicked machinations, the desperate politicians have now resorted to using blackmail as their weapon of attack”, he added.

Meanwhile, determined to get to the root of the blackmail effort and to put the records straight, Hon Wale Akinterinwa has directed his lawyers to write the management of the filling station to confirm the authenticity of the video and the identity of the purported member of his convoy who allegedly refused to pay for the fuel he was served.